If you’re scoring at home, the Dallas Cowboys are already on defensive coordinator No. 4 in four seasons — and they’re not done shopping.

Dallas has interviewed or requested interviews with nine candidates to replace Matt Eberflus, who was fired nine days ago after overseeing a defense that allowed 511 points, the most in franchise history. And according to Stephen Jones, the list could still grow.

“I think we’re in the initial run,” Jones told the team’s website. “We’re going to cast a wide net… half a dozen, 10, 12 coaches when it’s all said and done.”

Translation: nobody should be unpacking just yet.

This hire matters — maybe more than any Dallas has made in years. Since Dan Quinn left, the Cowboys have bounced from Mike Zimmer to Eberflus, and the results cratered fast. The defense didn’t just regress; it face-planted. By season’s end, Dallas ranked last in the NFL in scoring defense, a statistic that usually comes with pink slips attached.

New head coach Brian Schottenheimer has been clear about what he wants this time: a teacher, a communicator, and someone who can simplify the chaos.

“You’re looking for someone who can explain complicated things in a way players don’t have to think,” Jones said. “They can play fast. Reckless. Free.”

That word — reckless — is doing a lot of heavy lifting in Dallas right now.

The Cowboys believe the cupboard isn’t bare. Far from it. The next coordinator will be asked to build around linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku, and a beefy interior featuring Quinnen Williams, Osa Odighizuwa, and Kenny Clark. Add in two first-round draft picks, and suddenly this looks like a unit begging for structure more than talent.

The interview list reflects that thinking. It’s a mix of rising assistants and proven voices, including Jonathan Gannon, Zach Orr, Jim Leonhard, and several pass-game specialists — a not-so-subtle acknowledgment that modern NFL defenses live or die on communication and coverage.

There’s no timeline. No deadline. And no promises this won’t take a while.

But after a season that set records for all the wrong reasons, the Cowboys are finally acting like they know this hire can’t be rushed.

In Dallas, patience isn’t a virtue — it’s a necessity.